Automobile market grew by 57 percent in four months

The total automobile and light commercial vehicle market in Turkey grew by 57.11 percent in the first four months of 2015 when compared to the same period in 2014. According to an announcement by the Automobile Distributors Union (ODD), the 57.11 percent increase means 264,850 vehicles were sold within the first four months of 2015 while the total sales numbers were around 168,577 in the first four months of 2014. Automobile sales increased by 49.26 percent to 197,202 in the January-April period in 2015 when compared to last year while the total sales in the same period of 2014 were 132,116. The light commercial vehicle market sales increased 85.54 percent when compared to last year, reaching 67,648, while the total sales last year were 36,461.

Speaking to Daily Sabah, the automotive industry head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Salih Atılgan, said price hike expectations pushed sales up. Atılgan emphasized Turkey has a high potential for automotive sales since it is one of the priority purchasing choices of customers. "Pricing in this industry depends on the euro-Turkish lira parity, as sector representatives created an increased expectation on prices with the value gain of the euro against the lira. This has driven customers to purchase earlier than planned to avoid paying more," Atılgan said. Atılgan added that the Turkish automotive sector has always followed a growing trend; however, a 57.11 percent increase is above expectations.

The general coordinator of the ODD, Hayri Erce, said that the total volume of the automobile industry's 2015 sales will be around 900,000 to 950,000. He also said the expectation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will increase interest rates, considering the recovery in the country's economy, and the European Central Bank's (ECB) decision to continue with their monetary expansion policies, geological developments and the determination of the Central Bank of Turkey to fight against inflation will be determining factors for the automobile industry. He also underlined that the improvement in the current account deficit, steps toward structural reforms and the current election period will also have an effect on the automobile industry.